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Sunday, 7 February 2016

Victor Hugo takes centre stage at Channel Islands Heritage Festival

THE 2016 Channel Islands Heritage Festival (March 25-May 10) marks the 150th anniversary of Victor Hugo’s novel, Toilers of the Sea, which was inspired by and set in #Guernsey on which island the writer spent 15 years in exile from 1855.

To celebrate the anniversary of the novel, the festival will run a series of commemorative events.

These include a guided walk of Portelet, the fishing port that inspired Toilers of the Sea. The walk will include exclusive access to the roof of the iconic Guernsey landmark Fort Grey (locally known as the Cup and Saucer) and a visit to Hauteville House, the house in which Hugo wrote the novel.

‘Hugo’s Banquet’ is a six-course lunch for 200 guests with live music and drama performances. It will be held at Guernsey Market Buildings in St Peter Port to replicate a dinner given by Hugo for his friends at Hauteville House.

The Guernsey Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Club, the first amateur dramatics group to receive the amateur performing rights for Les Misérables, will be putting on a musical production of Hugo’s novel during the festival.